Republic Commando: Knights Of War
by xxxRavensClawxxx
Summary: When Order 66 was issued, everyone was left shocked. Except the clones. But the new Emperor made one flaw without knowing it: The gift of thought. This gift was given to each and every one of the Republic Commando units. So when Grit Squad received that order, they knew it was wrong. Follow from the perspective of Republic Commando Jank of Grit Squad in a new and terrifying galaxy.


**Hey guys! This is a Republic Commando story about Grit Squad, an elite Commando Squad in the Galactic Republic. When Order 66 is issued, the Commandos find themselves in a sea of emotional turmoil as they try to figure out one question:**

**What side are they on?**

Chapter 1

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

"_Execute Order 66."_

I looked at Gran for an acknowledgement of the order that has just filled our ears. Smokey pounded on his helmet's communicator to see if it has a broken connection, but I can tell the helmets are fine. Laire looked like he was punched in the gut, and even Gran is looking surprised. It quickly wears away, and he signaled to aim at the Jedi General Kol Thresh. I aimed my DC-17, which we commandos call 'Deeces', at the Jedi, when I thought about something.

We commandos of Grit Squad have seen General Thresh cry with us, bleed with us, and be almost killed with us, even when he didn't have to. I silently think about jumping ship with Smokey, who said he was told of a secret RV by a Null ARC.

'_If you wanna jump ship, there is a place. Taspir IV has a secret base where clones can safely go to get a transport to Mandalore or Tatooine or something. If you want to bash your way out of the GAR, that's the only way.' _Once Smokey heard that we were heading to Taspir III, a lava-covered planet in the middle of nowhere, he was happy as a kid who had just caught a pet.

"Jank, when those _Jetiise _takes us to victory on that godforsaken planet, I'm jumpin' ship. I'll wait two days for you at Taspir IV, but then I'm off to some forgotten planet." I suddenly decided not to kill Master Thresh when blue flashes of light rip through his blue head, filling the air with the aroma of burning flesh. A DC-15 blaster pistol is pointed at my chest.

"Hey Jank…you hesitated at an order. And you know what we do to guys who don't follow orders…" Suddenly, a Deece laser ripped through the troopers chest. Unlike this traitorous bunch, we commandos protect our brothers.

Some clone in the legion yells something, probably calling us traitors, and blue lasers flashed around us. I retreat into the smoke from a nearby volcanic vent, along with the other commandos. I do a headcount. _1...2...!_ "Hey," I yell. "Where's Laire?!" Gran looks at me and says, "Laire didn't make it." My older brother's words rip a hole in my heart, and that hole quickly fills and overflows with a burning fire of anger. _This_ is what I was made for: Not blasting CIS battle droids, not patrolling the streets of Coruscant, not even protecting Chancellor Palpatine. No, we commandos were made for one thing: avenging our brothers.

I grow angrier and angrier until the need to avenge Laire filled my vision with leaping flames which can only be quenched by one thing: killing every godforsaken clone soldier out in that clearing. I lob detonator after detonator at the never-ending waves of clone soldiers. Gran and Smokey are doing the same, pounding the clones with our DC-17s.

"Jank, go get Laire's section of the E-Web turret!" I take in the surroundings, suddenly noticing that Master Thresh's padawan is nowhere to be found. Poor kid must've been killed with his master. I dash out to Laire's still form, but before I leave, I make sure to bless him in mando'a. Then I pick up the stand of the turret and dash away.

"Where should we go now?" Asked Gran. I looked at Smokey, who stepped forward. "Sir, I was planning to jump ship after the battle. The Republic is getting corrupt, and I don't want any part in it."

Gran didn't seem angry, just curious. "Where is such a place?" "Taspir IV, a moon on the other side of Taspir at the time. We could make it if we could hijack a ship." Smokey replied. Gran nodded. "There is an outpost about 40 clicks from here. He could make it."

We all trudged through the seemingly endless mountains and stretches of black rock, all thanking the visors for keeping out the ash and pumice from the lava that ran in rivers around us.

We finally crossed the last ledge before seeing the outpost. Clone troopers guarded in turrets every five yards, and there were ray shields covering the door.

"We'll never get through that!" Smokey exclaimed. Gran looked around, and you could see the grin on his face through his visor as he looked at a hole Smokey was standing over. "Smokey, you found our answer. If we can't go forward, then we'll have to go up!"

The hole had been a steam geyser, and it shot Smokey up into the air, over the walls and into the landing pad and courtyard. Luckily, he had the sense to put on his shields and landed safely. It was then my turn, and then Gran's. The sensation felt like flying like a bird, having no limits.

We finally hacked through the door and started a ship. That was when clone troopers started pouring onto the landing pad. While I started the ship, Gran and Smokey manned the turrets of the large Correlian YT-6000 Freighter with illegal modifications, which included a Class 0.5 hyperdrive, a pair of quad laser cannons, and hidden compartments that were probably used for smuggling goods. Just our ship.

"Jank, how are those engines coming?" Gran called from the turret he was firing. "Pretty good, I need about three more minutes." "We have about three seconds! They have heavy weaponry coming in!"

I sped up, hacking, slicing, cutting, and finally hitting the power button. The engines roared as they came to life, and I activated another automatic turret to aid Gran and Smokey. I gently lifted up, and flew towards the upper atmosphere.

I forgot about the blockade. Five Republic Cruisers guarded the planet, as well as 10 _Inbound-_class frigates. One Jedi Cruiser sat as the main command ship, with the sly officer Tarkin in it's command chair, as a sliced security feed showed.

"Grit Squad, this is Imperial Officer Tarkin. I am to apprehend you and interrogate you for any information on surviving Jedi. You are to await custody." I picked up the comm. "This is Commando Jank of Grit Squad. We are not giving in."

Tarkin gave an audible sigh. "Then I must destroy you instead. Bad choice." ARC-170s swarmed, only to be met by volleys of laser fire. I had activated all five auto-turrets to help out Gran and Smokey.

170s blasted around us, always narrowly missing. I was flying like an ace. Flying captured my attention, like some kind of light to a moth. I loved the feeling of G-Forces pressing me to my seat, causing me to want to go faster and faster. Finally, I shot past Tarkin's command ship.

I jumped to light speed without a hitch. Leaving the controls on autopilot, I went to the back to see how Gran and Smokey were doing. Gran had bruised his head when the ship took one hit, but he was fine. Then we checked on Smokey.

When the door opened, I was horrified to see Smokey face-down in the port turret control

room. Blood flowed from an open wound on his arm, probably from the shattered view screen nearby. He moaned, signaling that he was still alive.

We quickly pulled him out of his turret. Thankfully, the YT-6000 freighters were unique due to the fact that the turrets had no glass window, so the air pressure was retained. He groggily stumbled (with our support) to the Medical Bay, where the 2-1B Medical Droid gave him some anesthetic and he fell asleep.

Gran and I went into the cockpit to decide what to do next. We double-checked the course, then settled down to a nice game of holo-chess, with a mug of Corellian Ale each. We soon were discussing our plans.

"We can't go straight to Taspir IV, Tarkin will have suspected that." Gran was saying. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but we can't drift, or Tarkin will find us!" I countered. "Taspir IV is our only hope."

"I have an idea," said a third voice. We turned to see Smokey standing in the doorway, with a bandage around his head. "We could just fly back to Taspir III. We'll land, lay low for a few weeks, then fly to Taspir IV. It's not like the whole planet's going to blow up." We waved him over, thanking the fathers of medical science for bacta tanks. Smokey's arm was also bandaged.

We agreed with Smokey's plan and walked back to the cockpit, setting a new course for the planet we had just been leaving. Gran went to poke around the innards of the ship. After a few minutes, I heard him shouting for us to get over to him. Smokey and I found him hopping around several clear crystals.

"What are they?" Asked Smokey.

"They're stygium crystals!" I said in awe. "The machine their hooked up to uses them to create the most advanced cloaking device known to the galaxy! This freighter has more illegal modifications than a sarlacc's tentacles." We looked around some more and found manual that a clone engineer had written.

_Analysis Log_

_Model: Correlian Cargo Freighter Model YT-6000_

_Modifications:_

_Legal:_

_None_

_Illegal:_

_Modified quad laser cannons_

_0.5 class hyperdrive_

_Stygium crystal-powered cloaking device_

_Imported circuitry that routes more power more efficiently_

_Hidden smuggling compartments_

_Stolen military shielding_

_Experimental heat-absorbing plating on entire ship_

_Notes:_

_Captured YT-6000 model Correlian Cargo Freighter. Found illegal spices and stolen military weaponry in cargo compartments mentioned above. No doubt used for smuggling. Found in a hidden hangar on Anuba IX. Awaiting orders for destruction or repurposing._

I closed the log and turned to the others with a visible grin on my face.

"This ship seven illegal modifications, not to mention that they're mostly made up of military-class and experimental upgrades." We all slapped each other on the back at our find. Alarms suddenly blared, with lights flashing.

I jumped into the pilot's seat, with Smokey in the gunner's position and Gran in the sensor array.

"What have we got?" I asked in an urgent voice.

"Not good. We've got three, four… six battle cruisers! An array of fighters are with them. What do we do?" Gran had fear in his voice, though he tried to hide it. I thought carefully about this. Then an idea sprang into my head.

"Quick, make a scan of the ship! Look for any ships, starfighters, anything that holds three people!" I ordered. He made a quick scan, and I felt sweat dripping down my brow as I counted down the seconds until we entered real space.

"Got something! An R-22 starfighter! It's light, fast, and carries a total of three people!" _Perfect._ I thought.

"Alright, you take over!" I shouted as I jumped up and ran to the medical bay. Three droids checked all their medicines and tools. I grabbed one by the arm and pulled him into the bay the R-22 was in. I ripped out his circuit board and replaced it with an old piloting droid control board. His photoreceptors lit up.

"I am Eva, the Republic's most reliable pilot droid program. Say a command." It said.

"Get in that fighter, fly out, and jump to the coordinates that I have already put in." I ordered the tin can. It saluted and entered the starfighter before closing the door. I hurried to the airlock doors and slammed them shut. Turning back, I watched as the engines flared on the rear of the R-22 before launching the ship into hyperspace.

Staggering back to the cockpit, I could only hope the plan would work.

**Alright, first chapter is over! Next one is coming.**


End file.
